snakebite question

[Swampy99]

Having treated many snakebites here in Queensland the main thing we do is use the pressure immobilisation technique. even if the person states that it was a non venomous snake we treat as it is until it is proven via blood tests of bite swab that no envenomation has taken place. I always ask them if they are that confident that it was a non venomous snake why call the ambulance just carry on with your day.

 

[forrestdweller]

with the exception of coral snakes (which i encountered only as road kills and in one place) all venomous snakes here are pit vipers which have a distinctive head shape which helps a lot with ID but if i understand correctly pressure immobilization isn't a good idea when bitten by one (see post #15)... .most venomous snakes i encountered were fer-de-lance, followed by mano (de) piedra -- i know of two people who got bitten by a fer-de-lance, one was a dry bite and the other one left the victim with a large purple skin discoloration in the bitten area but otherwise no permanent issue (=it happened in the childhood of a guy in his fifties); a nearby hospital has (supposedly) good snakebite treatment facilities. only time a snake attacked me was a 3ft fer-de-lance chasing after me in the garden which ended with me introducing it to my shovel. i've had a few encounters with snakes but paying attention where you walk, not doing anything foolish and wearing rubber boots (=the common local footwear) and carrying a stick in the jungle helps a lot to avoid incidents

as always hominids have been proven a much bigger thread, especially uniformed varieties and brainless car drivers/ cyclists...

 

[Swampy99]

Hi FD. With the PIB for being good or bad treatment for non Australian snakes is still out to jury I believe. The main thing is to slow the transport of venom via the lymphatic system. in the end any bite gets transported to hospital for definitive diagnostic and treatment. If you are more than 1 hour away from a hospital then the best thing to do is carry a PLB or have means to communicate with the outside world to get that help via 999 or 000 or 112.

 

[forrestdweller]

i presume PLB means a locator beacon?! i don't have one or can afford one and mobile phone reception can be bad or non existent even just a few kilometres from civilisation over here so i'm afraid getting to the nearest road and from there to the hospital by myself is the only option :-( (somewhat off topic but given the slow response to one gun related incident and no reaction from authorities (local cops + 911) in a second incident after the culprit's legal guns were confiscated i've not much confidence in help from them.... the shooter still remains a free being despite having raped his own 13y.o. daughter and gotten her pregnant about 4years ago -- welcome to the dark side of Costa Rica...)

i'm no doctor, nurse or herpetologist, but if you put a pressure bandage on a viper bite doesn't that mean concentrating the hemotoxin in the bitten area and greater risk of permanent tissue damage as result?! (not trying to be a smarta***, just curious as loosing a limb doesn't sound exiting...)

 

[Swampy99]

i presume PLB means a locator beacon?! i don't have one or can afford one and mobile phone reception can be bad or non existent even just a few kilometres from civilisation over here so i'm afraid getting to the nearest road and from there to the hospital by myself is the only option :-( (somewhat off topic but given the slow response to one gun related incident and no reaction from authorities (local cops + 911) in a second incident after the culprit's legal guns were confiscated i've not much confidence in help from them.... the shooter still remains a free being despite having raped his own 13y.o. daughter and gotten her pregnant about 4years ago -- welcome to the dark side of Costa Rica...)

i'm no doctor, nurse or herpetologist, but if you put a pressure bandage on a viper bite doesn't that mean concentrating the hemotoxin in the bitten area and greater risk of permanent tissue damage as result?! (not trying to be a smarta***, just curious as loosing a limb doesn't sound exiting...)

HI FD. Yes a PLB is a locating beacon and is a must have down here in the land of Oz. The whole comms question is again an ongoing thing and can become a layered system from a phone, UHF/VHF radio, sat phone, and PLB.
As for the not using PIB for a north hemisphere bite is still an area where people get quite passionate about how to treat a bite in the field. In the states A Dr Ben Abo is the main snake guy and works with Venom 1&2 response units in Miami.

Venom Response

Venom Response identifies and captures snakes, provides antivenom, assists with patient care, educates the public and much more.

www.miamidade.gov

And in Aus we have melbourne uni doing all the research in to snakes venom.

Australian Venom Research Unit

Australian Venom Research Unit page in the School of Biomedical Sciences site. venom, venom expert, snake, snakebite, jellyfish, bee, spider

biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au

According to the Wilderness Medical Society guidelines to Reptile Envenomations this the basic run down.
Pit vipers treat systemic signs and symptoms clean the wound and dress DO NOT use pressure bandages, TQ etc and get to hospital ASAP
Elapidae again treat any systemic signs and symptoms use pressure immobilisation bandage on effected limb and get to hospital.
Gila Monsters or Goanas they cant envonmate like a snake but the venom is in sacks in the gum area and will drool into the wound of a bite and do cause instant pain. Treat as a pit viper bite.

In the end prevention is the best course. I once had to treat and get flown off an island a resident of Costa Rica who was on holiday here. Tried to impress a young lady with his snake handling skills and got bitten for his troubles plus a $10000 USD cost for the helo retrieval. DO NOT TOUCH SNAKES.

 

[forrestdweller]

thanks for your detailed reply!

avoiding to get bitten is by far the best strategy, but i've encountered snakes in the most unlikely places incl. shower (a king brown living under the wooden floor on dampier peninsula ) and two fer-de-lance in the same toilet here in costa rica (one of them passing right in front of my toes whilst taking a #2) so i prefer to know what to do in case of an emergency...